Social Media Platforms Grapple with Disinformation and Harmful Content During 2024 Pakistan General Elections
The 2024 general elections in Pakistan witnessed a surge in disinformation and harmful content disseminated across major social media platforms, highlighting the urgent need for improved content moderation and greater transparency regarding political advertising. A report by the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) titled "Platforms At The Polls: Disinformation, Political Ads & Accountability During The 2024 Pakistan General Elections" revealed inconsistent enforcement of content moderation policies, particularly concerning technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) targeting women journalists and politicians. The report focused on the usage of platforms like TikTok, Facebook/Instagram, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter), and found a stark contrast in how these platforms handled content violations in Pakistan compared to countries in the Global North.
The DRF’s analysis of 225 social media posts from November 2023 to March 2024 uncovered a disturbing trend of gendered disinformation. Out of these posts, 163 were categorized as gendered disinformation, while the remainder included broader disinformation, misinformation, fake news, Generative AI content, and hate speech. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bore the brunt of these attacks, with 76 posts targeting Maryam Nawaz, followed by 61 posts aimed at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and 19 targeting the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Alarmingly, at least 47 posts targeted journalists covering the elections, subjecting them to gendered insults, online trolling campaigns, and even threats of physical violence. Ethnic, indigenous, and transgender communities were also targeted in 13 posts. This widespread abuse underscores the vulnerability of marginalized groups to online harassment during politically charged periods.
The DRF report criticized the lack of transparency from social media platforms regarding political advertising expenditures. While these platforms have comprehensive policies regarding electoral information integrity, their implementation in Pakistan and other South Asian countries has been insufficient. In particular, the opacity surrounding political ad spending raises concerns about potential manipulation and undue influence on the electoral process. Only Meta (Facebook and Instagram) provided data on political ad spending, revealing that major political parties collectively spent Rs54 million (approximately $190,000) on their campaigns. The PTI was the largest spender with Rs25 million, followed by the IPP (Rs13 million), JI (Rs6 million), PPP (Rs5 million), and PML-N (Rs0.79 million). The lack of transparency from other platforms hinders efforts to understand the full extent of online political campaigning and its potential impact on election outcomes.
The report emphasized the significant gap between the stated policies of social media platforms and their actual enforcement. While these platforms have clear community guidelines and policies prohibiting harmful content, their failure to effectively control and remove such material during the Pakistani elections raises serious concerns. This disparity between policy and practice underscores the need for greater accountability from tech companies. The DRF calls for more robust content moderation strategies, improved transparency regarding political advertising, and a commitment to upholding information integrity, particularly in regions like South Asia. These measures are crucial to ensuring fair electoral practices and protecting vulnerable communities from online abuse.
Nighat Dad, Executive Director of DRF, stressed the importance of electoral integrity upheld by social media platforms for maintaining democratic norms. She pointed out that the failure of these platforms to effectively tackle disinformation and election-related manipulation can have serious offline consequences. This highlights the interconnectedness of online and offline spaces and the potential for online harm to spill over into the real world. The DRF’s findings underscore the need for social media platforms to take greater responsibility for their role in shaping political discourse and safeguarding democratic processes.
The report’s recommendations include calls for greater transparency regarding political ad spending, more consistent and robust content moderation practices, and a commitment from tech companies to uphold information integrity globally. The DRF argues that social media platforms must prioritize user safety and invest in resources and strategies to effectively address disinformation and harmful content, especially during elections and other politically sensitive periods. This includes taking proactive measures to identify and remove harmful content, working with civil society organizations to combat disinformation campaigns, and providing users with tools to report and manage online abuse. By taking these steps, social media platforms can contribute to a more informed and democratic electoral process and help protect vulnerable communities from online harm.